Kira put her foot down hard before punching the air in front of her and a jet of flame erupted from her closed fist. "Good," Zuko said with a slight nod, "But your flame isn't even hot enough to burn silk." Kira hung her head with a sad look. Zuko had promised to teach her Firebending when he took her in and in the weeks since then he had been too busy to keep that promise.
At that time though construction of the school had finally begun. Most of the builders had no idea it was for the Burakumin. Zuko had also hired guards from among the Burakumin, he even allowed them to wear gloves to hide the mark but so far they had all been too afraid of punishment to do so. Even Julin refused the offer.
The unbranded builders didn't like the idea of Shamed folk guarding them. They could accept a few Burakumin working to construct the building but not them wearing a guards uniform and carrying swords or pikes. Zuko had put Pai Min in charge of the guards which proved to be the right call. She was a natural diplomat and had smoothed out the tensions between the two parties considerably.
Now that the construction was proceeding at a reasonable pace, Zuko found himself with more free time to do as he pleased and lately all he really wanted was to spend time with Kira. Zuko looked at the little girl as she glumly stared at her bare feet, saddened by Zuko's criticism of the heat of her flame.
"I haven't properly Firebent in such a long time," Kira told him, "If I did they said they'd cut my hands off."
"I understand," Zuko said assuringly, hiding his disgust at the threat. He had gotten good at controlling his emotions thanks to Kira. "But you don't need to be afraid of your gift anymore, when you attacked me the night I found you, you singed my sandals, but now you can't even light a straw dummy on fire."
"Is it because you were afraid?" Zuko then asked and Kira nodded. He smiled down at her before reaching out and ruffling her hair. Julin had been keeping Kira clean and tidy which meant her messy mop of black hair had become smooth and shiny. In place of her usual dress, Kira had opted to wear a pair of short trousers and a training shirt like Zuko.
"Don't worry, you'll get it." He watched her go through the forms again although his mind wandered as he did. He thought of what Headmaster Zin had told him about Kira. How she was the illegitimate child of a nobleman who suddenly decided he didn't want to risk Kira discovering her heritage and thus having a legal claim to his fortune.
Greed had forced Kira into a life that was little better than slavery. He wondered if her mother missed her though judging by what he knew of how people regarded the Burakumin then it was likely she had moved on or had even been forced to forget about Kira.
Zuko still wondered if he should tell Kira about her noble birth. On one hand, she had the right to know but on the other hand, it would destroy her completely. Kira wanted to believe that her Shaming was entirely her fault, that way her parents could remain uncorrupted in her mind.
He only hoped she didn't find out the truth before he could make a decision...
Julin stood by the main gate to the construction site. For the first time in years, she had untied the string around her blade's hilt and had spent a good while tending to the blade until it once again had a fine, sharp edge. So far she hadn't had to use it though.
"Captain Julin," came a familiar voice, "Is all well?" Pai Min was walking towards her and the man who was helping her stand guard. It was still strange to have a title again. General Pai Min had been coming around every other day to make sure the branded and unbranded parties were working together without any issues.
"Yes General," Julin said with a salute, "We haven't had any scuffles in a while now."
"Good," the woman stopped in front of Julin. It always awed her just how gigantic Pai Min was. She had heard the stories of Avatar Kyoshi and her tremendous build which only made Julin wonder if they were related somehow. Right now she wore a casual robe and sandals but when this woman was fully armoured even Julin got frightened.
"You seem tired, have you been sleeping well?" Pai Min asked suddenly, pulling Julin from her thoughts.
"Oh," Julin uttered, not used to people giving a damn about her wellbeing. "Well uh..."
"Captain Julin hasn't slept properly in two days General," the other guard said with a smile, "I doubt she's eaten today either."
"Quan!" Julin hissed at her underling who only winked back at her.
Pai Min fixed Julin with a hard stare. "Is the tent the Fire Lord gave you not satisfactory for sleeping in? It is only temporary."
Julin blushed then quickly shook her head. "The tent is more than enough, General," she said quickly, "I just..." Pai Min raised an eyebrow when Julin suddenly yawned. All this talk of her not sleeping reminded her how tired she was. "I'll sleep after my shift," Julin said stubbornly to the General who simply shook her head.
"You're of no use to anyone if you can barely stand, child," Pai Min then took Julin by the arm and led her towards the sizeable tents that had been erected to house those Burakumin workers and guards who had no place to stay. Julin wasn't welcome in her old apartment at the brothel after her arrest so all her things had been moved to her new tent.
Pai Min pulled the flap open and ducked inside. Inside was a small stove for cooking as well as a barrel of clean water, a sack of rice, a cooking pot and her comfortable bed. Even though the tent had a high ceiling it was still not enough for the giantess General who had to keep her head bowed. "Have you eaten today?" Pai Min let Julin go and immediately began to inspect the living space.
"I had some rice this morning," Julin assured her though the raised eyebrow told her that it wasn't adequate.
"Sit down," the General pointed at Julin's bed and the young Captain was honestly too intimidated to say no. What was going on? Why was this high ranking General so intent on taking care of her?
"General, what are you doing?" Julin found herself asking as she watched Pai Min light the small portable stove with some spark rocks and kindling.
"Back during the war I commanded a small unit," Pai Min told her in reply, "Most of them were fresh-faced recruits not long out of school like you once were." From the large sack, the general poured some rice into the pot which had filled with water. "They were still just a bunch of fifteen or sixteen-year-old boys and girls. Just children really. And what do children do when they leave home?"
Julin took a moment to think and remembered her first few weeks away from home. "They miss their families?"
"Yes but they mostly miss their mothers so I tried to fill that role while they were under my command." Pai Min now sat in front of the tiny stove as she stirred the rice with a spoon. "I'm sterile," she then said, "I can't have children of my own but being there for the younger recruits when they needed someone other than a hard-faced military captain was honestly my greatest pleasure."
"And now Fire Lord Zuko is building a school to house those children who have been discarded and abandoned," a grim look then appeared on her face, "During my time in the Boiling Rock I was reunited with most of my old squad who had defended me after I killed my commanding officer. They were still just children so I worked tirelessly to make the prison better than it once was."
"It was there that I discovered how good I am at that kind of thing," Pai Min then said, "So I'm going to ask Fire Lord Zuko if he'll let me be the Headmistress of this school and I'll work hard to make it as much a home for the children as it is a place of learning."
It was Julin's turn to raise an eyebrow but the more she thought about it the more it made sense. Even if they hadn't known each other very long Julin could already tell how caring Pai Min was to those who had less than her. There was silence for a short little while but eventually, Pai Min drained the rice and piled it into a bowl.
"You need to use your wages to buy more than just rice," she admonished the young Captain, "Get some meat in you." Pai Min stared at Julin, indicating to her slight frame. It was no secret that she was still too skinny to be healthy but she had been subsisting on far less for years. In truth, she felt like the money was better saved in case this situation wasn't permanent.
Now she eyed the heaping bowl of rice and knew she wouldn't be able to finish it all. Julin expected the General to leave but instead, she simply sat by the tent flap, as if barring her way out until she had finished eating and sleeping. She made a motion like she was picking up food with chopsticks and pretended to eat. Julin sighed before starting to eat. She barely managed to finish it...
In the weeks that followed the construction of the school went at a good pace. Kira trained regularly with Zuko in Firebending and was getting stronger by the day. Whatever mental block she had was quickly broken down and soon Iroh's garden was filled with the smell of burning straw and wood from the unfortunate training dummies she set on fire.
The Capital was abuzz with rumours about the school though nobody but Zuko and the workers truly knew its purpose aside from rumours set loose by loose-lipped workers who had dived to keep into their wine. The fact that it was guarded by armed Burakumin confused a great many people. It soon came time for him to come clean and fully explain the situation.
A crowd had gathered by the gates of the Palace one afternoon after word had spread of Fire Lord Zuko making a speech. Peasants and nobles alike were welcome inside the Palace grounds during this event which was once unheard of under Zuko's forebears but if he was going to encourage equality then segregating those of lower birth from the nobility wasn't the way.
Zuko eyed the podium where he would make only his third speech. Once when he had accepted the title of Fire Lord and when he had announced Zhao's defeat in Makapu Village. General Lee and Pai Min were standing beside him while Pian Dao had taken leave to return to Shu Jing. Zuko found no good reason to make his old sword instructor stay.
Zuko took a deep breath to steady his nerves. He felt Kira clasp her hand in his. It was so small he felt like he could break it with a light squeeze but the Fire Lord held it tenderly. As he would a daughter or little sister.
"Nervous?" Zuko asked the girl as she stared through a crack in the door.
"A little," she admitted, "Why do I have to be here?"
"Because it's finally time for people to see you," Zuko told her, "And for them to see me, their Fire Lord, not shunning you for the mark on your hand." Zuko opened his hand and gazed at the brand. He wondered if there was a way to fix it or at least remove it but they simply didn't have the capabilities. He knew that spirit water from the Northern Water Tribe was even more potent than ordinary water but he had no idea if it could heal scars and the Waterbenders were highly protective of it.
He closed his hand on hers again, hiding the scar until the right moment. "Shall we go, Zuko?" Pai Min said beside him, "The people will be restless."
"I'm scared," Kira piped up and Pai Min knelt beside her.
"Don't be child, we'll be right beside you," Zuko watched the older woman give Kira's shoulder an encouraging squeeze before taking her place beside Zuko again. Zuko fixed his posture and held his head high before signalling Lee to open the door. The chatter of the crowd died down as he stepped into the light but when they noticed Kira more murmurs rose.
No doubt they thought she was his child and that Zuko was going to officially recognise her as his own. He wouldn't be the first Fire Lord to have had a secret love child. Zuko kinda wished that was the case, at least the public would understand this better. He purged the thought from his head. Kira's situation wasn't that easy or simple to explain.
He stopped in the centre of the stage and Kira stood beside him, stiff as a board in the fancy dress he had made her wear. She looked weird in such high-class clothing, a far cry from the red and gold-trimmed dress she had taken a liking to. The crowd were watching her now and she seemed to shrink under their gaze. The Burakumin people weren't used to this much attention.
Zuko cleared his throat loudly and most of the crowd looked back at him. "People of the Fire Nation," he said loudly, trying to project his voice as Jinn had taught him. Zuko winced as he remembered Jinn but continued uninterrupted. "To those gathered, I must thank you for coming on such short notice so I'll try and be brief."
"For some months I've come to know a wonderful young girl who stands beside me now." Zuko indicated to Kira with his free hand, "Her name is Kira, she's smart, funny, witty and-" he let of her hand and turned it to show her mark, "Burakumin."
As expected, gasps of shock and cries of outrage rang through the crowd from peasants and nobles alike.
How can he hold her hand?
What is he thinking?
He'll be cursed for sure!
How dare the little runt stand so close to him!
Zuko didn't react. He had started to get better at hiding his emotions. "I understand the outrage most of you feel," Zuko told them, "I can't force you to change your minds about those among us who live us Burakumin but I can stop more from being created."
"From this day forth the practice of Shaming is outlawed!" He fixed the crowd with a steely glare, "The tools used to brand a Burakumin are to be melted down, anyone caught in possession of such implements will be arrested!"
"To brand anyone as a Burakumin is tantamount to slavery which has been outlawed in our Nation for centuries and the punishment for slavery," he furrowed his brow, "Is death."
He let them cry out. He let them feel their rage. Zuko didn't even have to look to know what majority was angriest. He knew full well that the nobles benefited most from the cheap labour provided by the Burakumin. That a great many were likely locked away and used for the sexual gratification of the nobility. He would try and save them but short of breaking down the doors of every noble house, he couldn't do much yet.
The yelling didn't subside after ten minutes during which time Kira held Zuko's hand tighter than ever. He tried to make her feel safe but he couldn't speak, not right now. Eventually, he nodded at Pai Min who stepped forward and called for silence with her booming voice. The yelling began to die down and Zuko was free to continue speaking.
"I have one final announcement," Zuko told the crowd. He almost smiled. If they had hated his last big reveal they would surely hate this just as much. "As many of you have probably seen, construction of a large scale project has begun in the city," he stated, "It is a school that will house, feed and educate Burakumin children while being protected by guards consisting largely, if not wholly, of Burakumin," he cast his gaze over the people.
The crowd was silent for a moment before one voice rose among them. "This is an outrage!" a man called, "You spit on the Old Ways, have you no respect?"
Zuko glared at the man, "And who are you to speak so brazenly to your Fire Lord?"
"Zhu Fa!" Zhu Fa said like it meant something to Zuko, "My family have served the Royal Family for generations."
"Well, Zhu Fa," Zuko said, "The Old Ways do not matter to me."
"What did you say, boy?"
"The Old Ways do not matter to me!" he repeated, louder this time, "Any code that forces men, women and children to suffer so that a lucky few can live comfortably is not welcome in the Fire Nation. The Old Ways will hold no bearing in my courts, in my eyes, they are as cruel as they are now redundant."
"Was I loud enough, Zhu Fa?"
The man fumed. His face was going red and he looked ready to explode. Tensions were rising so he had to disperse the crowd quickly before they rioted. "That will be all, thank you for coming." He turned and made for the door into the safety of the palace but he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. He had just spat in the faces of the Nobles and those who served them.
A cry came from the crowd and a bright light caught Zuko's attention. A fireball had been bent and thrown from somewhere in the crowd. Zuko stepped in front of Kira and managed to extinguish it before it hit her. Whoever shot it wasn't aiming for him, but Kira. Then the panic started. Men and women rushed for the gates eager to escape before someone else tried to kill the Fire Lords pet.
Several more fireballs shot from the crowd this time as more and more people join in the fight. Zuko found himself being rushed inside as Pai Min and Lee covered him this time. A contingent of guards ran past him in the hallway. He was about to give orders when Pai Min shouted, "Do not kill them!" It was exactly what he had wanted to say.
Kira was still beside him and thankfully unharmed but she was shivering in fear. Zuko took her in his arms and carried her through the Palace whilst surrounded by his escort. He held a hand on her back, running it up and down gently to soothe her nerves...